realize that This life is not real; it is not false Reality and falsity are fundamentally the same It is not long, it is not short Long and short are fundamentally the same Thinking this, understanding this, we can see how important it is to practice the dharma Long exists only in dependence upon short Short exists only in dependence upon long Where is the thing that is only long, and not short? Where is the thing that is only short and not long? When we realize we cannot find any such thing, then we see the equality of long and short Suffering and happiness exist only in dependence upon each other We can only know happiness in dependence upon suffering We can only know suffering in dependence upon happiness When we have a great feeling of joy, that exists only in dependence upon an idea of what great suffering is When we have great suffering, that can exist only because we have a notion of what great joy is And when we try to think or conceive of what the greatest joy possible could be, or what the greatest suffering possible could be, we have no idea And this shows that suffering and happiness are of the nature of equality We have explained the ten equalities from the Sutra of the Tenth Bhumi Of these equalities, the most important are the way that everything is the same from the perspective of its genuine nature—freedom from all conceptual fabrications—and the way everything is the same from the perspective of its relative nature—that everything is equally just like a dream, an illusion, and a water moon These are what we have to think about again and again and again To sum it all up, practice emptiness and compassion in union Everything is complete within that [Rinpoche, translator, and students dedicate merit.] Sarva Mangalam! SHENPEN ÖSEL 121 Selected Verses From Chandrakirti’s Entrance to the Middle Way The First Mind Generation: Perfect Joy Shravakas and intermediate buddhas arise from the Mighty Ones Buddhas are born from the bodhisattvas And compassionate mind, non-dual awareness, And bodhicitta are the causes of these heirs of the Victors (1) Since I assert that loving kindness itself is the seed of the Victors’ abundant harvest, Is the water which causes it to flourish, And is its ripening that allows it to be enjoyed for a long time, I therefore praise compassion at the very outset (2) They are born into the family of the tatagathas They abandon all three that entangle so thoroughly These bodhisattvas possess extraordinary happiness, And can cause a hundred worlds to quake (6) Advancing from ground to ground, they fully progress upwards— At that time, all paths to the lower realms are sealed off At that time, all grounds of ordinary beings evaporate— They are taught to be like the eighth ground of the noble ones (7) First thinking “me,” they fixate on “self,” Then, thinking, “This is mine,” attachment to things develops Beings are powerless, like a rambling water mill— I bow to compassion for these wanderers (3) Even those abiding on the first ground of perfect bodhicitta, Through the power of their merit, outshine Both those born of the Mighty One’s speech and the solitary sages On the ground Gone Far Beyond, their minds also become superior (8) Beings are like the moon on the surface of rippling water — They move and are empty of any self nature The Victors’ heirs see this and in order to free beings completely Their minds come under the power of compassion, (4) At that time, the first cause of complete enlightenment, Generosity, becomes preeminent When one is enthusiastic even about giving away one’s own flesh, This is a sign of something that normally cannot be seen (9) And perfectly dedicating their virtue with Samantrabhadra’s prayer, They perfectly abide in joy—this is called “the first” Having attained this ground They are called by the name “bodhisattva.” (5) All beings strongly desire happiness But human happiness does not occur without objects of enjoyment Knowing that these objects arise from generosity, The Mighty One taught generosity first (10) 122 SHENPEN ÖSEL Even for those without much compassion Who are extremely hot-tempered and selfconcerned, The objects of enjoyment they desire And that pacify their suffering come from generosity (11) Even they, through an occasion of giving, Will meet a noble being, receive their counsel, And soon after, completely cutting the stream of cyclic existence, They will progress to peace, the result of that (12) Those whose minds vow to benefit beings Quickly gain happiness from their acts of generosity It is for those who are loving and those who are not— Therefore, generosity is foremost (13) The happiness of an arhat attaining peace Cannot match the joy experienced by a bodhisattva Upon merely hearing the words, “Please give to me.” So what need to mention their joy when they give away everything? (14) The pain one feels from cutting one’s own flesh to give it away Brings the suffering of others in the hell realms and so forth Directly into one’s own experience, And awakens one’s vigor in striving to cut that suffering off (15) Giving empty of gift, giver, and recipient Is a transcendent perfection beyond the world When attachment to these three arises, That is a mundane transcendent perfection (16) Like that, the Victors’ heirs utterly abide in the mind of bodhicitta And from their excellent support, joy’s light beautifully shines This joy, like the jewel of the water crystal, Completely dispels the thick darkness—it is victorious! (17) Adapted by Ari Goldfield in October 1999 from a translation by Mark Seibold and Scott Wellenbach, ©1997 The Second Mind Generation: The Stainless Because the bodhisattvas’ discipline has such excellent qualities, They abandon the stains of faulty discipline even in their dreams Since their movements of body, speech and mind are pure, They gather the ten types of virtue on the path of the genuine ones (1) These ten types of virtue have been practiced before But here they are superior because they have become so pure Like an autumn moon, the bodhisattvas are always pure, Beautified by their serenity and radiance (2) But if they thought their pure discipline had an inherent nature, Their discipline would not be pure at all Therefore, they are at all times completely free Of dualistic mind’s movement towards the three spheres (3) Generosity can result in wealth gained in the lower realms When an individual has lost their legs of discipline Once the wealth’s principal and interest are completely spent, Material enjoyments will not come again (4) SHENPEN ÖSEL 123 If when independent and enjoying favorable circumstances, One does not protect oneself from falling into the lower realms, Once one has fallen into the abyss and has no power to escape, What will be able to lift one up and out of that? (5) Therefore, after giving his advice on generosity, The Victor taught about accompanying it with discipline When good qualities thrive in discipline’s field, The enjoyment of their fruits is unceasing (6) For ordinary individuals, those born of the Buddha’s speech, Those set on solitary enlightenment, And heirs of the Victor, The cause of the higher realms and of true excellence is nothing other than discipline (7) Like the ocean with a corpse, And auspiciousness with misfortune, When great beings come under discipline’s power, They not abide together with its decay (8) If there be any focus on these three— The one who abandons, the abandoned act, and the one with regard to whom it is abandoned— Such discipline is explained to be a worldly transcendent perfection Discipline empty of attachment to these three has gone beyond the world (9) Free from stains, The Stainless, the bodhisattvas arising from the moon Are not of the world, yet are the world’s glory Like the light of the moon in autumn They assuage the torment in the minds of beings (10) Adapted by Ari Goldfield in October 1999 from a translation by Scott Wellenbach, ©1997 124 SHENPEN ƯSEL The Third Mind Generation: The Luminous Here the kindling of all objects of knowledge is consumed in a fire Whose light is the reason this third ground is called The Luminous At this time, an appearance like the copper sun Dawns for the heirs of the sugatas (1) Even if someone becomes enraged with a bodhisattva, who is not an appropriate object of anger, And cuts the flesh and bone from their body Ounce by ounce over a long period of time, The bodhisattva’s patience with the one who is cutting grows even greater (2) For the bodhisattvas who see selflessness, The flesh cut off of them, the one who is cutting, the length of time cut, and the manner in which it is done— All these phenomena they see are like reflections, And for this reason as well they are patient (3) Once the harm is done, if one becomes angry, Does that anger reverse what has happened? Therefore, anger certainly brings no benefit here, And will be of detriment in future lives as well (4) The harm one experiences is said to be the very thing That exhausts whatever wrong deeds one performed in the past So why would the bodhisattva, through anger and harming another, Again plant the seeds for future suffering to be endured? (5) Since getting angry with bodhisattvas Instantly destroys all the virtue That generosity and discipline have accumulated over a hundred eons, There is no greater negativity than impatience (6) It makes one ugly, brings one close to those not genuine, And robs one of the ability to discriminate right from wrong Impatience quickly hurls one into the lower realms— Patience brings out the good qualities opposite to these (7) Patience makes one beautiful and endears one to the genuine beings It brings one skill in knowing what is appropriate and what is not Later it brings birth as a human or a god And exhaustion of negative deeds as well (8) Ordinary beings and heirs of the Victor Should realize the faults of anger and the good qualities of patience, Abandon impatience, and always quickly rely On the patience praised by the noble ones (9) Even though dedicated to the enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, If it focuses on the three spheres, it is worldly When there is no focus, the Buddha taught, This is a transcendent perfection beyond the world (10) On this ground the Victor’s heirs gain the samadhis and clairvoyances, Desire and aversion are completely exhausted, And they are ever able to vanquish The desire experienced by worldly beings (11) And then fervently yearn to vanquish the darkness in others On this ground, though incredibly sharp, they not become angry (13) Adapted by Ari Goldfield in October 1999 from a translation by Mark Seibold and Scott Wellenbach, ©1997 The Fourth Mind Generation: The Radiant All good qualities follow after diligence— It is the cause of both the accumulations of merit and wisdom The ground where diligence blazes Is the fourth, The Radiant (1) Here for the heirs of the Sugatas there dawns an appearance Even better than the copper light — It arises from an even greater cultivation of the branches of perfect enlightenment Everything connected with the views of self and self-entity is completely exhausted (2) Adapted by Ari Goldfield in October 1999 from a translation by Mark Seibold and Scott Wellenbach, ©1997 The Fifth Mind Generation: The Difficult to Overcome Generosity and so forth—these three dharmas The Sugata particularly praised to lay people They are also the accumulation of merit And the causes of the Buddha’s form body (12) The great beings on the ground that is Difficult to Overcome Cannot be defeated even by all the maras Their meditative stability becomes superior and their excellent minds Become incredibly skilled in subtle realization of the nature of the truths The heirs of the Victor, abiding in the sun, these luminous ones, First perfectly dispel the darkness present in themselves, Adapted by Ari Goldfield in October 1999 from a translation by Mark Seibold and Scott Wellenbach, ©1997 SHENPEN ƯSEL 125 ... me.” So what need to mention their joy when they give away everything? (14) The pain one feels from cutting one’s own flesh to give it away Brings the suffering of others in the hell realms and... realization of the nature of the truths The heirs of the Victor, abiding in the sun, these luminous ones, First perfectly dispel the darkness present in themselves, Adapted by Ari Goldfield in October... bodhicitta are the causes of these heirs of the Victors (1) Since I assert that loving kindness itself is the seed of the Victors’ abundant harvest, Is the water which causes it to flourish, And